A coalition of student groups under the banners of the National Association of Oduduwa Students (NAOS), the Coalition of Yoruba Students, and the Yoruba Movement on Tuesday staged a peaceful demonstration in Ibadan, Oyo State, declaring their support for the Dangote Refinery amid its ongoing conflict with oil unions and fuel marketers.
The protesters, who gathered at the Iwo Road Roundabout along the Ibadan–Lagos Expressway, marched through major parts of the city, chanting solidarity songs and displaying placards with inscriptions such as “Don’t Kill Dangote Refinery,” “#StopSabotagingFuelInNigeria,” “#EndPENGASSAN,” “#EndDAPPMAN,” and “#DangoteRefineryIsANationalAsset.”
Clad in uniform shirts boldly inscribed with “Don’t Kill Dangote Refinery,” the students said the demonstration was aimed at drawing the government’s attention to what they described as “a coordinated conspiracy by vested interests” to undermine the refinery’s operations.
Speaking during the protest, NAOS President, Olalere Adetunji, appealed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and relevant government agencies to urgently step in to safeguard the refinery’s operations.
“We are calling on the Federal Government to protect the Dangote Refinery from any form of sabotage and ensure that actions by labour unions and marketers do not derail Nigeria’s pursuit of fuel self-sufficiency,” Adetunji stated.
Security agencies, including the Nigeria Police Force and personnel of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), were deployed along the protest routes to maintain peace and order as the demonstration progressed without incident.
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